FSU’s Roberto Vincis is studying the impact of temperature on how the brain processes salty tastes. “When we eat or drink, three senses work together: taste, smell and touch, which includes texture and temperature. Combined, they create what we experience as flavor,” says Vincis. To understand how the brain processes taste, scientists need to understand how those senses interact, including the effects of temperature.

Chemicals in ingested foods and drinks activate taste cells in the mouth, which pass the signal to nerves that carry it to the primary gustatory cortex of the brain. “We’ll combine hypothesis-driven behavioral experiments, recordings of brain activity, and targeted manipulation of specific brain circuits to examine how stimulus temperature changes the way the brain responds to salt,” adds Vincis. “What we learn could help develop strategies to reduce excess salt consumption in the diet.”

• Lisa Eckel
• Roberto Vincis